Scheduling of Paging Notifications Supporting Beam Sweeping

ABSTRACT

An embodiment method for paging notification includes hashing an identity of a UE to determine a paging frame in which a page is to be sent to the UE and to determine an index of an entry in a bitmap, setting the entry at the index in the bitmap to a value indicating whether a page message associated with a paging group to which the UE belongs is transmitted in a current paging cycle, and transmitting the bitmap in each of a plurality of beamformed beams, wherein the beams are transmitted in a sweeping pattern such that at least one beam is transmitted in every portion of a coverage area of a component transmitting the beams and such that each of the beams is transmitted at least once during the paging frame.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.62/395,171, filed on Sep. 15, 2016, which application is herebyincorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to a system and method forwireless communications, and, in particular embodiments, to a system andmethod for the scheduling of paging notifications supporting beamsweeping.

BACKGROUND

A user equipment (UE) may enter a low-power idle state when no datacommunication with a network is occurring. When the network wishes tocommunicate with an idle UE, the network may send a page to the UE.Pages are typically transmitted only on paging occasions that occur atperiodic intervals known to both the UE and the network. When a pagingoccasion occurs, the UE wakes momentarily to determine if the networkhas sent a page. If no page has been sent, the UE may return to the idlestate. If a page has been sent, the UE may listen for a page messagecorresponding to the page and may follow instructions contained in thepage message, such as instructions to initiate procedures to connect tothe network.

SUMMARY

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a method forpaging notification comprises hashing an identity of a UE to determine apaging frame in which a page is to be sent to the UE and to determine anindex of an entry in a bitmap, setting the entry at the index in thebitmap to a value indicating whether a page message associated with apaging group to which the UE belongs is transmitted in a current pagingcycle, and transmitting the bitmap in each of a plurality of beamformedbeams, wherein the beams are transmitted in a sweeping pattern such thatat least one beam is transmitted in every portion of a coverage area ofa component transmitting the beams and such that each of the beams istransmitted at least once during the paging frame.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, a methodfor paging monitoring comprises hashing an identity of a UE to determinea paging frame in which a page is to be sent to the UE and to determinea position of an indicator in a bitmap to be sent to the UE, wherein avalue of the indicator indicates whether a page message associated witha paging group to which the UE belongs is transmitted in a currentpaging cycle, identifying a beamformed beam within the paging frame inwhich the UE is capable of receiving a downlink transmission, monitoringthe beam during the paging frame to receive the bitmap, and when thevalue of the indicator indicates that the page message is transmitted inthe current paging cycle, receiving and decoding the page message todetermine whether the UE is being paged.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, atransmit/receive point comprises a processor and a non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium storing programming for execution bythe processor. The programming includes instructions to hash an identityof a UE to determine a paging frame in which a page is to be sent to theUE and to determine an index of an entry in a bitmap, set the entry atthe index in the bitmap to a value indicating whether a page messageassociated with a paging group to which the UE belongs is transmitted ina current paging cycle, and transmit the bitmap in each of a pluralityof beamformed beams, wherein the beams are transmitted in a sweepingpattern such that at least one beam is transmitted in every portion of acoverage area of a component transmitting the beams and such that eachof the beams is transmitted at least once during the paging frame.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, a UEcomprises a processor and a non-transitory computer readable storagemedium storing programming for execution by the processor. Theprogramming includes instructions to hash an identity of the UE todetermine a paging frame in which a page is to be sent to the UE and todetermine a position of an indicator in a bitmap to be sent to the UE,wherein a value of the indicator indicates whether a page messageassociated with a paging group to which the UE belongs is transmitted ina current paging cycle, identify a beamformed beam within the pagingframe in which the UE is capable of receiving a downlink transmission,monitor the beam during the paging frame to receive the bitmap, and whenthe value of the indicator indicates that the page message istransmitted in the current paging cycle, receive and decode the pagemessage to determine whether the UE is being paged.

An advantage of one or more embodiments derives from the fact thatpaging will be a major function in future versions of Radio ResourceControl (RRC) signaling. A single set of RRC procedures to cover bothlow frequency (omnidirectional) cases and high frequency and otherbeamformed cases may be specified, so the future paging procedures mayneed to be adaptable to beamforming even in omnidirectional cases. Thepaging algorithm may need to be specified because the UE and networkneed a common awareness of when the UE will be monitoring paging. One ormore embodiments disclosed herein provide paging behavior that may beimplemented in such situations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present invention, and theadvantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptionstaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a timeline illustrating a paging procedure;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating sweeping of multiple beamformedtransmissions over time;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating paging during the sweeping of multiplebeamformed transmissions over time;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating paging during the sweeping of multiplebeamformed transmissions over time in a scenario where a DRX cycle and asweep time are relatively prime;

FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment use of a paging bitmap in a beamformingand beam sweeping scenario;

FIG. 6 illustrates an embodiment timeline of UE reception in abeamforming and beam sweeping scenario;

FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment timeline of TRP transmissions in abeamforming and beam sweeping scenario;

FIG. 8 illustrates an embodiment procedure combining features of FIG. 6and FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of an embodiment method for paging notification;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of an embodiment method for paging monitoring;

FIG. 11 illustrates a block diagram of an embodiment processing systemfor performing methods described herein; and

FIG. 12 illustrates a block diagram of a transceiver adapted to transmitand receive signaling over a telecommunications network.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

The structure, manufacture and use of the presently preferredembodiments are discussed in detail below. It should be appreciated,however, that the present invention provides many applicable inventiveconcepts that can be embodied in a wide variety of specific contexts.The specific embodiments discussed are merely illustrative of specificways to make and use the invention, and do not limit the scope of theinvention.

In Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, paging occasions are multiplexedat both the paging frame level and the paging subframe level, where aframe occupies 10 milliseconds (ms) and a subframe occupies 1 ms. A UEuses its identifier (such as its International Mobile SubscriberIdentity (IMSI)) as an input into a hash function to determine whichpaging frames, and which subframes within the paging frames, to monitorfor receiving paging notification. The hash functions are modulus basedand given by the following equation,

SFN mod T=(T div N)*(UE_ID mod N)

where SFN is the system frame number; T is the DRX (discontinuousreception) cycle of the UE; nB is 4T, 2T, T, T/2, T/4, T/8, T/16, T/32;N is min(T,nB); Ns is max(1,nB/T); and UE_ID is IMSI mod 1024.

An index i_s pointing to a paging occasion may be derived from followingequation.

i_s=floor(UE_ID/N)mod Ns

The index i_s determines the paging occasion subframe index via a lookuptable.

When a network wishes to send a page to a UE, the network determineswhen to page by applying the same hash function used by the UE.Therefore, the UE and the network both know when a paging occasion willoccur for that UE, and the UE may listen for a page in the physicaldownlink control channel (PDCCH) only in the assigned paging occasion.

Different UEs may hash to the same paging occasion, so false alarms mayoccur. That is, a UE may receive a page intended for another UE. Thehash function distributes UEs to different paging occasions to reducethe number of false alarms, but it may not be possible to reduce thenumber to zero. Thus, when a UE sees a page scheduled on the PDCCH in apaging occasion assigned to itself, the UE may need to check thecorresponding page message on the physical downlink shared channel(PDSCH) to determine if the page is actually assigned to itself. UEsthat hash to the same paging occasion may be referred to as a paginggroup.

One paging subframe contains one bit of paging information on the PDCCH.The bit indicates whether one or more UEs in the group assigned to thepaging occasion are or are not currently being paged. Additionalinformation, such as which individual UE is being paged and why, may betransmitted in the PDSCH. One paging frame contains Ns bits (up to fourbits, the value depending on the network configuration) of informationon the PDCCH.

FIG. 1 is a timeline 100 illustrating a paging procedure. In thisexample, a UE 110 has hashed its identifier (ID) and determined thatpaging frame 140 is its paging frame and subframe 4 is its pagingsubframe. When paging frames 120 and 130 occur, the UE 110 recognizesthat neither of those paging frames is its paging frame, and the UE 110remains in a DRX off-period throughout those paging frames. When pagingframe 140 occurs, the UE 110 recognizes that that paging frame is itspaging frame. The UE 110 remains in the DRX off-period until the UE'spaging subframe, subframe 4, occurs. When subframe 4 occurs, the UE 110wakes up, receives a page, and acts on the page if required to do so. Atthe next paging subframe within paging frame 140, the UE 110 returns tothe DRX off-period. When paging frame 150 occurs, the UE 110 againrecognizes that that paging frame is not its paging frame, and the UE110 remains in the DRX off-period.

Some systems may use beam sweeping for broadcast transmissions,including paging. That is, if a transmit/receive point (TRP) cannotachieve the needed range when transmitting omnidirectionally, the TRPmay rely on beamforming to direct transmissions in one or more specificdirections. However, a TRP typically cannot beamform in all directionsat once, so the TRP may sweep multiple beamformed transmissions throughmultiple directions over time.

FIG. 2 illustrates such sweeping of multiple beamformed transmissionsover time. In this example, a pattern of 16 beams covers a fullrevolution of 2π. In other cases, the number of beams and the width ofthe beams may be larger or smaller. At a first time, a TRP 210 transmitsa first beam, B1, in a first direction. At a second time, the TRP 210transmits a second beam, B2, in a second direction with a defined offsetfrom the first direction. Such transmissions continue such that the TRP210 sends beams throughout its coverage area. Thus, the TRP 210effectively transmits omnidirectionally over time, but at any oneinstant, the TRP 210 transmits in only one of the 16 directions shown.In general, the TRP 210 transmits a plurality of beamformed beams in asweeping pattern such that at least one beam is transmitted in everyportion of the coverage area of the TRP 210. The TRP 210 may be a basestation, an evolved node B (eNB), or a similar component.

In order to carry a page message, a beam may need to “dwell” in onedirection for at least the length of a paging occasion. This length oftime may be referred to as “dwell time” D. So for a number N of beamstransmitted individually, the time to sweep through an entire revolutionis DN. If the TRP can transmit k beams simultaneously, however, thesweep time is DN/k. It may be assumed that D is an integer multiple m ofthe length p of a paging occasion, such that D=mp.

In LTE, p is 1 subframe, but with the flexible new radio (NR) structure,p may have other lengths. Hereinafter, p may be referred to as thepaging transmission time interval (TTI). Thus, the beams sweep throughthe entire TRP coverage area, spending m paging TTIs in each beamdirection. In mN/k paging TTIs, the beams cover every direction.

Problems may arise when the existing paging structure is used in a beamsweeping environment. For example, the TRP may not know the direction inwhich the UE is located and so may need to page omnidirectionally oralmost omnidirectionally. That is, the TRP may need to sweep through asignificant portion of an entire revolution, sending a page in everybeam, until a page is sent to the UE for which the page is intended.Paging may be delayed in such a scenario. Also, the UE may not know whenthe TRP will be paging in the direction of the UE. Thus, the UE may needto stay awake longer than would otherwise be necessary and wait for abeam that carries its paging to be transmitted in the direction of theUE. The UE's battery usage may be adversely affected in such a scenario.

FIG. 3 illustrates another problem that may arise when the existingpaging structure is used in a beam sweeping environment. In this case,the UE may never receive a page. As an example, a TRP 310 sweeps onebeam at a time, for one paging frame at a time. Every 16 frames (160 mswith LTE numerology), the TRP 310 covers the entire footprint of theTRP's coverage area. A UE 320 is located in the direction of beam B7. Itmay be assumed that the UE 320 has a paging DRX cycle of 256 frames(2.56 seconds) and that the UE 320 hashes to paging frame 105 and pagingsubframe 4. The UE 320 in beam B7 will see pages only when SFN=6 mod 16.Since frame 105 does not meet that criterion, the UE 320 will never bepaged in beam B7. The UE 320 is paged in beam B10 instead, but since theUE 320 is not located in the direction of beam B10, the UE isunreachable by page messages. The problem in general is that the sweeptime (16 frames) divides the DRX cycle length (256 frames) evenly, so agiven frame within the DRX cycle always occurs in the same beamdirection.

A possible solution to the latter problem may be to have the DRX cycleand the sweep time be relatively prime. For example, the DRX cycle maybe set to 233 frames or some other arbitrarily chosen prime numberfairly close to 256.

FIG. 4 illustrates paging in such a scenario. 233=9 mod 16, so thepaging cycle “shifts” by 9 in each sweep time. In DRX cycle t, beam Xcarries pages in frames with SFN=(X−1)+9(t−1) mod 16. Thus, adetermination may need to be made of when beam B7 carries a page for aframe with SFN=105 mod 256. Since 105=9 mod 16, such an event happens incycle t such that 9=6+9(t−1) mod 16, or equivalently 4=3t mod 16. Thegeneral form is

(DRX cycle)=(X−1)+(DRX cycle)(t−1)mod N.

Thus, such an event first happens when t=12. In other words, it takes12*233=2796 frames or approximately 28 seconds to page the UE 410. Sucha long paging time is unacceptable, so this strategy is not desirable.

Before paging, a TRP does not know the direction in which a UE islocated. The UE does know the beam pattern from system information,including its timing relationship based on the synchronization beams. Sothe UE may choose to listen only when its most favorable beam is active.A UE's most favorable beam may be defined as a beam received by the UEwith a measure of signal quality (e.g., received energy, signal to noiseratio, reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal receivedquality (RSRQ), etc.) higher than any other beam and in a directioncloser to the UE than any other beam. Any beam transmitted with anenergy and a direction that allow a UE to receive a page in the beam maybe considered an acceptable beam for that UE. That is, an acceptablebeam is a beam that exceeds a threshold for signal quality (e.g.,received energy, signal to noise ratio, RSRP, RSRQ, etc.) received by aUE, but that may or may not be the most favorable beam for the UE.

Both the network and the UE know the paging cycle and other parametersthat control when the UE will be paged. However, the network does notnecessarily know which beam or beams a particular UE can or willmonitor. Thus, it may be desirable to define a paging scheme such that,in any paging frame, a paging occasion is sent to the listening UEs, nomatter which beam is directed toward the UEs. If such a scheme wereimplemented, a UE would be able to listen to any beam the UE could hearand receive the paging information. However, in such a case, the networkwould need to deliver all the paging information on all beams, since thenetwork does not know where the UEs are. Such a scheme would thus entailthe network transmitting large amounts of redundant information.Furthermore, the time multiplexing scheme in existing LTE systems is notable to provide such functions.

In an embodiment, the paging frame concept from LTE is maintained,wherein the system timeline is divided into paging frames of consistentlength and the frame length is configurable by the network. Further, theUE hashes to a paging frame by a method similar to that in LTE.

However, in an embodiment, instead of the use of paging subframes, apaging bitmap is provided to indicate a UE that is being paged. Avariable that has an index i in the paging bitmap may be set to a valueof “1” if a UE in paging group i is currently being paged. The UE mayhash to a paging group by a method similar to that in LTE, e.g., basedon UE_ID mod (number of paging groups).

The embodiments ensure that, during one paging frame, the paging bitmapis sent at least once in every beam, throughout the sweep pattern. Thepaging frame may need to be at least as long as the sweep time. Thepaging bitmap is transmitted in a single paging TTI, so the differentpaging groups are multiplexed in the frequency dimension, rather thanbeing multiplexed in time as is the case in LTE and Universal MobileTelecommunications System (UMTS). The UE listens to enough paging TTIsin the paging frame to receive the bitmap reliably. It may be noted thatnot every radio frame has to be a paging frame. Paging frames may beintermittent instead.

In an embodiment, construction of the paging bitmap may be based on thenumber of paging groups. A paging group may be defined, as in UMTS orLTE, as all the UEs that hash to a particular set of radio resources forpaging. In LTE, the term “set of radio resources” refers to a pagingframe and a paging occasion. With regard to the embodiments disclosedherein, the term “set of radio resources” refers to a paging frame andan index in a paging bitmap. There may be Ns entries in the pagingbitmap, where Ns, as in LTE, is the number of paging groups within apaging frame. The range of Ns for the disclosed paging bitmap may bedifferent than in LTE, where the range is limited to 4 because certainsubframes have to be reserved as available for paging. For example,subframes 0/4/5/9 cannot be configured as multicast-broadcastsingle-frequency network (MBSFN) subframes or almost blank subframes(ABSF) in LTE. The embodiments have no such restrictions, and the pagingbitmap may be dimensioned very large.

The UE's index in the paging bitmap may be computed as UE_ID mod (Ns) ora similar simple hash function. Like the hash functions used for pagingin LTE, this function does not need to be a secure “trapdoor” function.The objective is to spread out the load across paging groups, not toconceal the UE's identity. Any function with a statistically flatdistribution will suffice.

In the scheduling of paging bitmap transmissions, several assumptionsmay be made that are similar to those made in the above examples of beamsweeping. That is, it may be assumed that the TRP has a pattern coveringN beam directions and that the TRP transmits k beams at a time with adwell time D in each direction, where N is a multiple of k, D is amultiple of the paging TI p, and sweep time=DN/k. Further, the length Fof the paging frame may be configured by the network, and F≧sweep timemay be assumed.

In an embodiment, during each sweep cycle, the network configures atleast one paging TI in every beam, and the paging bitmap is sent in eachpaging TI. Thus, the UE receives the paging bitmap, regardless of whichbeam the UE listens to. Corresponding page messages may be sent on eachbeam as well and may be sent in the same paging TI as the paging bitmapor in a different paging TI. The UE has previously hashed its ID todetermine a position in the paging bitmap that the UE will examine forthe value of an indicator. When the indicator is set to a particularvalue, the UE becomes aware that a page message associated with thepaging group to which the UE belongs is transmitted in the currentpaging cycle. In such a case, the UE receives and decodes the pagemessage to determine whether the UE is being paged. As in LTE, falsealarms are possible, but the page message content may disambiguate whichUE in the paging group is being paged. More paging groups may reduce thefalse alarm incidence.

FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment use of a paging bitmap in a beamformingand beam sweeping scenario. For the sake of clarity in the drawing, onlyfour beams are shown, but 16 beams may be present as in the previousexamples or some other number of beams may be present. A paging bitmap510 has 8 entries with indices 0-7 and corresponding values 00000100.That is, there is a value of “1” in position 5 in the paging bitmap 510and a value of “0” in all other positions in the paging bitmap 510. Asweep cycle 520 traverses the four beams, B1-B4, one at a time, asindicated by the shading. A paging TI is configured in each beam. UE Ais located in the direction of beam B1, and UE B is located in thedirection of beam B3. In this example, it may be assumed that UE A hashashed its ID and thereby determined that it will examine position 5 inthe paging bitmap 510 and that UE B has hashed its ID and therebydetermined that it will examine position 2 in the paging bitmap 510. Inpaging TTI 1, B1 sends the paging bitmap 510 in the direction of UE A.UE A looks at position 5 in the received paging bitmap 510 and sees avalue of “1” at position 5 in the received paging bitmap 510. UE Athereby determines that the paging group to which UE A belongs is beingpaged and receives the page message. In paging TI 3, B3 sends the pagingbitmap 510 in the direction of UE B. UE B looks at position 2, sees avalue of “0” in that position, determines that UE B is not being paged,and takes no action.

It may be noted that if UE B is close enough to B2, UE B may be able toreceive the paging bitmap 510 in B2 instead of in B3. That is, B3 may bethe most favorable beam, but B2 may be an acceptable beam. The linkbudget may be worse for B2, but B2 arrives at UE B earlier than B3 andmay thus allow a quicker response from UE B.

A UE may need to take several steps before being able to monitor thepaging channel. The UE may need to receive a paging configuration fromthe network, for example in system information. The UE may also need tocompute hash functions for its paging frame, and in an embodiment,compute its applicable position in the paging bitmap, based on its ownID. The UE may further need to register/attach, so the core networkknows the area in which the UE can be paged.

When a UE camps in the service area of a TRP that is using beamforming,the UE may identify (e.g., during the synchronization process) the mostfavorable downlink beam. The UE may further determine the beam pattern(e.g., from system information), so the UE knows at which times the mostfavorable downlink beam (or an acceptable downlink beam) will be active.In an embodiment, the UE may also determine the configuration of pagingTTIs within the active period for the most favorable downlink beam (oran acceptable downlink beam). In addition, the UE may apply the pagingDRX cycle. That is, the UE may stay in a DRX off-period until the UE'spaging frame.

It may be noted that, because of the assumption that the paging frameduration is at least as long as the sweep pattern, it may be known thatthe UE's paging frame will include at least one active period for theUE's most favorable downlink beam.

During the UE's paging frame, the UE may remain in a DRX off-perioduntil the most favorable downlink beam is transmitted. If an acceptabledownlink beam is scheduled earlier than the most favorable beam, the UEmay try to receive from the acceptable beam first.

While the most favorable downlink beam for a UE is active, the UEreceives one or more paging TTIs since, in an embodiment, the TRP sendsat least one paging TTI in every beam. In an embodiment, the number ofTTIs transmitted is part of the paging configuration, while the numberof TTIs the UE is specified to receive may be variable. For example, aUE in poor radio conditions may accumulate multiple paging TTIs toimprove the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR).

FIG. 6 illustrates an embodiment timeline 600 of UE reception in abeamforming and beam sweeping scenario, using the four beam example ofFIG. 5. In this example, 1 paging frame=1 sweep cycle and there are twopaging TTIs per beam dwell time. A UE 610 has hashed its ID anddetermined that paging frame Y 620 is its paging frame and that beam 3630 is its beam in a paging frame. The UE 610 has further determinedthat an entry of “1” in position 7 of a paging bitmap 640 indicates thatthe UE 610 is in a group being paged. The UE 610 knows that paging frameY−1 650 is not its paging frame and so remains in a DRX off-periodthroughout paging frame Y−1 650. The UE 610 also knows that beam 1 660and beam 2 670 are not its beams and so remains in a DRX off-period inpaging frame Y 620 until beam 3 630 is transmitted. When beam 3 630 istransmitted, the UE 610 wakes up and receives the paging bitmap 640. TheUE 610 determines that an entry of “1” is present in position 7 of thereceived paging bitmap 640 and thus determines that the UE 610 is in agroup being paged. The UE 610 may then receive a page message.

FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment timeline 700 of TRP transmissions in abeamforming and beam sweeping scenario, with the same paging frame andpaging TI assumptions as in FIG. 6. A TRP 710 generates pages for threeUEs (not shown). The TRP 710 transmits a first paging bitmap 720 in allbeams in paging frame Y−1 730. The first paging bitmap 720 has its index4 set to “1” to indicate that a UE that has hashed to paging frame Y−1730 and that examines the value of index 4 will receive a page in pagingframe Y−1 730 o. The TRP 710 also transmits a second paging bitmap 740in all beams in paging frame Y 750. The second paging bitmap 740 has itsindex 3 and its index 7 set to “1” to indicate that UEs that have hashedto paging frame Y 750 and that examine the value of index 3 or index 7will receive a page in paging frame Y 750. A first UE hashes to pagingframe Y−1 730 and paging bitmap index 4 and receives a page in pagingframe Y−1 730. A second UE hashes to paging frame Y 750 and pagingbitmap index 3 and receives a page in paging frame Y 750. A third UE,equivalent to the UE 610 of FIG. 6, hashes to paging frame Y 750 andpaging bitmap index 7 and also receives a page in paging frame Y 750.

FIG. 8 illustrates an embodiment procedure that combines FIG. 6 and FIG.7. That is, the UE side of FIG. 6 and the network side of FIG. 7 areboth shown, with the UE 610 of FIG. 6 as well as the other two UEs thatwere mentioned with regard to FIG. 7 but not shown all appearing. Afirst UE 810 is equivalent to UE 610 of FIG. 6 and behaves as describedwith regard to that figure. A second UE 820 hashes to paging frame Y840, best beam 2 850, and paging bitmap position 3. Thus, when UE 820receives paging bitmap 860 in beam 2 850 of paging frame Y 840, UE 820sees that position 3 in paging bitmap 860 is set to “1” and knows thatUE 820 is in a group being paged. A third UE 830 hashes to paging frameY−1 870, best beam 2 880, and paging bitmap position 4. Thus, when UE830 receives paging bitmap 890 in beam 2 880 of paging frame Y−1 870, UE830 sees that position 4 in paging bitmap 890 is set to “1” and knowsthat UE 830 is in a group being paged.

In an embodiment, a third level of hashing is implemented to indicate apaging TTI. In such an embodiment, when the network assigns more thanone paging TTI per beam (e.g., two paging TTIs per beam as in FIGS.6-8), the UEs may compute a hash function and thereby determine tomonitor only one of the TTIs. The network computes the same hashfunction, so the network and each UE have a paging frame, a bitmapposition, and in this embodiment, a paging TTI index. This embodimentreduces the receiver duty cycle to one paging TTI per paging DRX cycle.This embodiment also spreads out the paging load, meaning there arefewer UEs in each paging group and fewer false alarms. However, theability for UEs to combine energy from different paging TTIs may belost. For coverage extension type scenarios, such as enhanced MachineType Communications (eMTC)/Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), itmay be preferable to have the combining gain across multiple TTIs. ForUEs in normal coverage, the benefits of spreading the paging load may bemore important. In an embodiment, the use of this third level of hashingmay be configurable. For example, the network may set the hashingbehavior differently for a massive Internet of Things (mIoT) scenariothan for an enhanced Mobile BroadBand (eMBB) scenario.

In the case of radio access network (RAN) slicing, where differentportions of a RAN are used for different types of communication,implementation of this third level of hashing may entail the use ofdifferent paging configurations per slice. If one RAN serves multipleuse cases, a decision may need to be made regarding which setting ismore appropriate. Alternatively, separate paging channels may be used onthe basis of the service and/or UE type.

From the perspective of a network, the embodiments disclosed hereinprovide a method of paging notification in a beamformed system. Themethod comprises hashing a UE identity to a paging group (i.e., a pagingframe and a paging bitmap position); constructing for each paging framea bitmap identifying which paging groups are paged in that frame;performing a beam sweeping operation such that all beams are transmittedat least once during a paging frame; and, in each beam, transmitting thebitmap on one or more paging TTIs.

From the perspective of a UE, the embodiments disclosed herein provide amethod of paging monitoring in a beamformed system. The method compriseshashing the UE's identity to a paging group; identifying a preferreddownlink beam (the preferred downlink beam is likely to be the UE's bestdownlink beam but may be any beam received with better than a minimumacceptability threshold); monitoring one or more paging TTIs within thepreferred beam, during the UE's paging frame, to receive the bitmap; anddetermining, based on the UE's entry in the bitmap, whether the UE isbeing paged.

In either of the above perspectives, an optional third level of hashingprovides for identifying a paging TI within a plurality of paging TTIsbased on hashing the UE's identity to a paging TTI index.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of an embodiment method 900 for pagingnotification. At block 910, an identity of a UE is hashed to determine apaging frame in which a page is to be sent to the UE and to determine anindex of an entry in a bitmap. At block 920, the entry at the index inthe bitmap is set to a value indicating whether a page messageassociated with a paging group to which the UE belongs is transmitted ina current paging cycle. At block 930, the bitmap is transmitted in eachof a plurality of beamformed beams. The beams are transmitted in asweeping pattern such that at least one beam is transmitted in everyportion of a coverage area of a component transmitting the beams andsuch that each of the beams is transmitted at least once during thepaging frame.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of an embodiment method 1000 for pagingmonitoring. At block 1010, an identity of a UE is hashed to determine apaging frame in which a page is to be sent to the UE and to determine aposition of an indicator in a bitmap to be sent to the UE. A value ofthe indicator indicates whether a page message associated with a paginggroup to which the UE belongs is transmitted in a current paging cycle.At block 1020, a beamformed beam within the paging frame in which the UEis capable of receiving a downlink transmission is identified. At block1030, the beam is monitored during the paging frame to receive thebitmap. At block 1040, when the value of the indicator indicates thatthe page message is transmitted in the current paging cycle, the pagemessage is received and decoded to determine whether the UE is beingpaged.

FIG. 11 illustrates a block diagram of an embodiment processing system1100 for performing methods described herein, which may be installed ina host device. As shown, the processing system 1100 includes a processor1104, a memory 1106, and interfaces 1110-1114, which may (or may not) bearranged as shown in the figure. The processor 1104 may be any componentor collection of components adapted to perform computations and/or otherprocessing related tasks, and the memory 1106 may be any component orcollection of components adapted to store programming and/orinstructions for execution by the processor 1104. In an embodiment, thememory 1106 includes a non-transitory computer readable medium. Theinterfaces 1110, 1112, 1114 may be any component or collection ofcomponents that allow the processing system 1100 to communicate withother devices/components and/or a user. For example, one or more of theinterfaces 1110, 1112, 1114 may be adapted to communicate data, control,or management messages from the processor 1104 to applications installedon the host device and/or a remote device. As another example, one ormore of the interfaces 1110, 1112, 1114 may be adapted to allow a useror user device (e.g., personal computer (PC), etc.) tointeract/communicate with the processing system 1100. The processingsystem 1100 may include additional components not depicted in thefigure, such as long term storage (e.g., non-volatile memory, etc.).

In some embodiments, the processing system 1100 is included in a networkdevice that is accessing, or part otherwise of, a telecommunicationsnetwork. In one example, the processing system 1100 is in a network-sidedevice in a wireless or wireline telecommunications network, such as abase station, a relay station, a scheduler, a controller, a gateway, arouter, an applications server, or any other device in thetelecommunications network. In other embodiments, the processing system1100 is in a user-side device accessing a wireless or wirelinetelecommunications network, such as a mobile station, a user equipment(UE), a personal computer (PC), a tablet, a wearable communicationsdevice (e.g., a smartwatch, etc.), or any other device adapted to accessa telecommunications network.

In some embodiments, one or more of the interfaces 1110, 1112, 1114connects the processing system 1100 to a transceiver adapted to transmitand receive signaling over the telecommunications network. FIG. 12illustrates a block diagram of a transceiver 1200 adapted to transmitand receive signaling over a telecommunications network. The transceiver1200 may be installed in a host device. As shown, the transceiver 1200comprises a network-side interface 1202, a coupler 1204, a transmitter1206, a receiver 1208, a signal processor 1210, and a device-sideinterface 1212. The network-side interface 1202 may include anycomponent or collection of components adapted to transmit or receivesignaling over a wireless or wireline telecommunications network. Thecoupler 1204 may include any component or collection of componentsadapted to facilitate bi-directional communication over the network-sideinterface 1202. The transmitter 1206 may include any component orcollection of components (e.g., up-converter, power amplifier, etc.)adapted to convert a baseband signal into a modulated carrier signalsuitable for transmission over the network-side interface 1202. Thereceiver 1208 may include any component or collection of components(e.g., down-converter, low noise amplifier, etc.) adapted to convert acarrier signal received over the network-side interface 1202 into abaseband signal. The signal processor 1210 may include any component orcollection of components adapted to convert a baseband signal into adata signal suitable for communication over the device-side interface(s)1212, or vice-versa. The device-side interface(s) 1212 may include anycomponent or collection of components adapted to communicatedata-signals between the signal processor 1210 and components within thehost device (e.g., the processing system 1100, local area network (LAN)ports, etc.).

The transceiver 1200 may transmit and receive signaling over any type ofcommunications medium. In some embodiments, the transceiver 1200transmits and receives signaling over a wireless medium. For example,the transceiver 1200 may be a wireless transceiver adapted tocommunicate in accordance with a wireless telecommunications protocol,such as a cellular protocol (e.g., long-term evolution (LTE), etc.), awireless local area network (WLAN) protocol (e.g., Wi-Fi, etc.), or anyother type of wireless protocol (e.g., Bluetooth, near fieldcommunication (NFC), etc.). In such embodiments, the network-sideinterface 1202 comprises one or more antenna/radiating elements. Forexample, the network-side interface 1202 may include a single antenna,multiple separate antennas, or a multi-antenna array configured formulti-layer communication, e.g., single input multiple output (SIMO),multiple input single output (MISO), multiple input multiple output(MIMO), etc. In other embodiments, the transceiver 1200 transmits andreceives signaling over a wireline medium, e.g., twisted-pair cable,coaxial cable, optical fiber, etc. Specific processing systems and/ortransceivers may utilize all of the components shown, or only a subsetof the components, and levels of integration may vary from device todevice.

It should be appreciated that one or more steps of the embodimentmethods provided herein may be performed by corresponding units ormodules. For example, a signal may be transmitted by a transmitting unitor a transmitting module. A signal may be received by a receiving unitor a receiving module. A signal may be processed by a processing unit ora processing module. Other steps may be performed by a hashingunit/module, a setting unit/module, an identifying unit/module, amonitoring unit/module, and/or a decoding unit/module. The respectiveunits/modules may be hardware, software, or a combination thereof. Forinstance, one or more of the units/modules may be an integrated circuit,such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or application-specificintegrated circuits (ASICs).

While this invention has been described with reference to illustrativeembodiments, this description is not intended to be construed in alimiting sense. Various modifications and combinations of theillustrative embodiments, as well as other embodiments of the invention,will be apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reference to thedescription. It is therefore intended that the appended claims encompassany such modifications or embodiments.

1. A method for paging notification comprising: hashing an identity of auser equipment (UE) to determine a paging frame in which a page is to besent to the UE and to determine an index of an entry in a bitmap;setting the entry at the index in the bitmap to a value indicatingwhether a page message associated with a paging group to which the UEbelongs is transmitted in a current paging cycle; and transmitting thebitmap in each of a plurality of beamformed beams, wherein the beams aretransmitted in a sweeping pattern such that at least one beam istransmitted in every portion of a coverage area of a componenttransmitting the beams and such that each of the beams is transmitted atleast once during the paging frame.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein anumber of entries in the bitmap is equal to a number of paging groups inthe paging frame.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one pagingtransmission time interval (TTI) is transmitted in each of the beams,and wherein the bitmap is transmitted in each paging TTI.
 4. The methodof claim 3, wherein a number of paging TTIs transmitted is part of apaging configuration.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the hashingfurther determines a paging TTI within a plurality of paging TTIs inwhich the bitmap is to be transmitted.
 6. A method for paging monitoringcomprising: hashing an identity of a user equipment (UE) to determine apaging frame in which a page is to be sent to the UE and to determine aposition of an indicator in a bitmap to be sent to the UE, wherein avalue of the indicator indicates whether a page message associated witha paging group to which the UE belongs is transmitted in a currentpaging cycle; identifying, by the UE, a preferred downlink beamformedbeam from a plurality of beams within the paging frame in which the UEis capable of receiving a downlink transmission; monitoring thepreferred downlink beam during the paging frame to receive the bitmap;and when the value of the indicator indicates that the page message istransmitted in the current paging cycle, receiving and decoding the pagemessage to determine whether the UE is being paged.
 7. The method ofclaim 6, wherein a number of entries in the bitmap is equal to a numberof paging groups in the paging frame.
 8. The method of claim 6, whereina number of paging transmission time intervals (TTIs) the UE isspecified to receive is variable.
 9. The method of claim 6, wherein theUE listens to enough paging TTIs to receive the bitmap with at least athreshold reliability.
 10. The method of claim 6, wherein the hashingfurther determines a paging TI within a plurality of paging TTIs inwhich the bitmap is to be received.
 11. A transmit/receive pointcomprising: a processor; and a non-transitory computer readable storagemedium storing programming for execution by the processor, theprogramming including instructions to: hash an identity of a userequipment (UE) to determine a paging frame in which a page is to be sentto the UE and to determine an index of an entry in a bitmap; set theentry at the index in the bitmap to a value indicating whether a pagemessage associated with a paging group to which the UE belongs istransmitted in a current paging cycle; and transmit the bitmap in eachof a plurality of beamformed beams, wherein the beams are transmitted ina sweeping pattern such that at least one beam is transmitted in everyportion of a coverage area of a component transmitting the beams andsuch that each of the beams is transmitted at least once during thepaging frame.
 12. The transmit/receive point of claim 11, wherein anumber of entries in the bitmap is equal to a number of paging groups inthe paging frame.
 13. The transmit/receive point of claim 11, whereinthe programming further includes instructions to transmit at least onepaging transmission time interval (TTI) in each of the beams, whereinthe bitmap is transmitted in each paging TTI.
 14. The transmit/receivepoint of claim 13, wherein a number of paging TTIs transmitted is partof a paging configuration.
 15. The transmit/receive point of claim 11,wherein the programming further includes instructions to hash theidentity of the UE to determine a paging TTI within a plurality ofpaging TTIs in which the bitmap is to be transmitted.
 16. A userequipment (UE) comprising: a processor; and a non-transitory computerreadable storage medium storing programming for execution by theprocessor, the programming including instructions to: hash an identityof the UE to determine a paging frame in which a page is to be sent tothe UE and to determine a position of an indicator in a bitmap to besent to the UE, wherein a value of the indicator indicates whether apage message associated with a paging group to which the UE belongs istransmitted in a current paging cycle; identify a preferred downlinkbeamformed beam from a plurality of downlink beams within the pagingframe in which the UE is capable of receiving a downlink transmission;monitor the preferred downlink beam during the paging frame to receivethe bitmap; and when the value of the indicator indicates that the pagemessage is transmitted in the current paging cycle, receive and decodethe page message to determine whether the UE is being paged.
 17. The UEof claim 16, wherein a number of entries in the bitmap is equal to anumber of paging groups in the paging frame.
 18. The UE of claim 16,wherein a number of paging transmission time intervals (TTIs) the UE isspecified to receive is variable.
 19. The UE of claim 16, wherein theprogramming further includes instructions for the UE to listen to enoughpaging TTIs to receive the bitmap with at least a threshold reliability.20. The UE of claim 16, wherein the programming further includesinstructions to hash the identity of the UE to determine a paging TIwithin a plurality of paging TTIs in which the bitmap is to be received.